— Overview
The notes follow two women out from under men’s bonds, and a mise-en-scène they treat as another character in the frame.
— Contents and key concepts
From Fingersmith to a 2016 opening
The Handmaiden, the notes write, takes Sarah Waters’s 2002 novel Fingersmith as its source. The book is set in Victorian Britain and offers a view of nineteenth-century English society; it was also made as a television drama in 2005 and was widely popular, they say. When Park Chan-wook, whose style divides audiences, announced a film of it, some doubted the fit, then found their hopes rising because the source itself was so unusual.
The film opened in 2016, they write, and was entered in the Cannes competition that year. They date about 4.2 million admissions to that release — left as they then counted them, not recast as a later official total. They call it his first period piece.
Hideko and Sook-hee, and a space that acts like a character
The notes follow Hideko and Sook-hee: their meeting and love, and a path from oppression to release. The period space, they write, is so fully realised that it behaves like another character in the film. The 1930s landscape, mixing East and West, looks unusual to them, and Park’s habit of loading each frame with a distinctive mise-en-scène — space, props, figures, light — continues here, carrying feeling and relations of power.
Kim Tae-ri, they say, seemed too practised to be called a newcomer, and Kim Min-hee was in strong form; the two, together, matched the heat of interest before the opening. Bold, sensual images of a secret love between a lady and a maid, they write, and images loaded with metaphor, add force to the way the story is told.
A core they read as release, and a controversy they leave personal
The core of the film, as they interpret it, is a story of women leaving men’s bonds. Lesbian scenes of a kind Korean films had rarely shown, and coarse language, shifted some attention onto homosexuality and caused controversy. There may be unease in watching, they write, so judgement is entirely personal. They give high marks, even so, to the two women’s unguarded playing.
They also allude to a then-known incident after which Kim Min-hee “failed to receive a prize in person,” and the film became better known after it opened; they do not name that incident, and it is not named here. Viewers who have already seen more than one of Park’s films, or who understand his way of directing, will, they think, find plenty to enjoy.
The same Korean report, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.
Sources
- The notes, a student reading of Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden (2016), from Sarah Waters’s Fingersmith: Hideko and Sook-hee, a mise-en-scène treated as a character, about 4.2 million admissions as dated to 2016, and Cannes competition that year.
Last updated: 15 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
What source and release facts do the notes record?
The Handmaiden, they write, is Park Chan-wook’s film of Sarah Waters’s 2002 novel Fingersmith, set in Victorian Britain and also made as a popular 2005 television drama. The film opened in 2016, his first period piece, they say, and was entered in the Cannes competition that year. They date about 4.2 million admissions to that release — left in that window, not recast as a later official total. Some audiences, they add, had doubted whether his divisive style would fit the book, then found their hopes rising because the source itself was so unusual.
Whom do they name, and how do they read the look of the film?
They follow Hideko and Sook-hee: their meeting, love, oppression, and release. The period space, they write, behaves like another character, and the 1930s landscape mixes East and West in a way they find unusual. Mise-en-scène — space, props, figures, light in a single frame — carries feeling and power. Kim Tae-ri, they say, seemed too practised to be called a newcomer, and Kim Min-hee was in strong form; together they matched the heat of interest before the opening. Bold, sensual images of a forbidden love, they write, add force to the narrative.
What controversy do they note, and where do they stop?
The core, as they read it, is a story of women leaving men’s bonds. Lesbian scenes of a kind Korean films had rarely shown, and coarse language, shifted some attention onto homosexuality and caused controversy; they say judgement is personal, and some viewers may feel uneasy. They also allude to a then-known incident after which Kim Min-hee “failed to receive a prize in person,” and the film became better known; they do not name the incident. They give high marks to the two women’s unguarded playing, and think the film will satisfy viewers who already know Park’s work.
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